Aim is for female coaches to acquire new knowledge, skills and experience

Part of FIFA’s commitment to increase the opportunities that exist within football for female coaches, the inaugural FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme began on 29 October 2018 at FIFA’s House of Football in Switzerland.

The new project is designed to support female coaches by enabling them to acquire new knowledge, skills and experience that they can harness in their careers.

Female coaches from all over the world have gathered in Zurich for the two-day workshop, where they will be paired with colossal names of women’s football, allowing them to benefit from invaluable first-hand advice, gain new ideas and share best practice.

Communication between the female coaches and their mentors will continue after the workshop, with the programme concluding in November 2019.

Below is the list of the coach and mentor pairings:

Rae Dower: Australia Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach

Kay Cossington: Head of Women’s National Development Teams & Talent at The FA (2017-present)

Even Pellerud: Norway Women’s National Team Head Coach (1989–1996), Canada Women’s National Team Head Coach (1999-2008), Trinidad & Tobago Women’s National Team Head Coach (2008-2012), Norway Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012-2015)

Patrizia Panico: Italy Men’s U-15 National Team Head Coach

Sarina Wiegman: The Netherlands Women’s National Team Head Coach (2017-present)

Toni Cowan: Jamaica Women’s U-15 National Team Head Coach

Francisco Neto: Portugal Women’s National Team Head Coach (2014-present)

Jill Ellis: USA Women’s U-21 National Team Head Coach (2000, 2005), USA Women’s U-20 National Team Head Coach (2009–2010), USA Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012, 2014-present)

Gemma Lewis: New Zealand Women’s U-20 and U-17 National Team Assistant Coach

Asako Takemoto: Japan Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)

Epifania Benitez: Paraguay Women’s U-20 National Team Head Coach

Jorge Vilda: Spain Women’s National Team Head Coach (2015-present)

Nina Patalon: Poland Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach

Anna Signeul: Sweden Women’s U-16 and U-18 National Team Head Coach (1996-2004), Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach (2005-2017), Finland Women’s National Team Head Coach (2017-present)

Salma Almajdi: Al-Ahly Al-Gedaref Men’s Club Head Coach (Sudan)

Desiree Ellis: South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)

Malin Levenstad: Assistant Coach of FC Rosengard

Kay Cossington: Head of Women’s National Development Teams & Talent at The FA (2017-present)

Stephanie Spielmann: Tahiti Women’s National Team Head Coach

Ives Serneels: Belgium Women’s National Team Head Coach (2011-present)

Houriya Hussain: UAE Women’s National Team and U-16 Head Coach

Vera Pauw: Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach (1998-2004), The Netherlands Women’s National Team Head Coach (2004-2010), Russia Women’s National Team Head Coach (2011), South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2014-2016), Houston Dash Head Coach (2017-2018)

Hadijah Namuyanja: Uganda Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach

Desiree Ellis: South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)

Sithethelelwe Sibanda: Zimbabwe Women’s National Team Coach

Pia Sundhage: USA Women’s National Team Head Coach (2007-2012), Sweden Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012-2017), Sweden Women’s U15-U17 National Team Head Coach (2017-present)

The programme charts the way in which FIFA will work with confederations and Member Associations (MAs), clubs and players, the media, fans and other stakeholders to realise the full potential that exists within the women’s game.